NATO fighter jets were scrambled in Poland and Romania overnight as Russia staged massive strikes on Kyiv. At least 12 people were killed and 34 wounded in a missile and drone onslaught on the Ukrainian capital, in some of Vladimir Putin’s most intense strikes of the entire war, lasting more than seven hours.
NATO Response and Airspace Incursions
The Operational Command of NATO state Poland’s armed forces said: “Due to the activity of long-range Russian air forces conducting strikes on Ukrainian territory, military aviation has begun operating in Polish airspace.” The statement said: “These operations are preventative in nature and are aimed at securing and protecting airspace, particularly in areas adjacent to the threatened areas.”
In Romania, a suspected Russian drone again crashed in NATO territory. Two Spanish F-18 aircraft and a Romanian helicopter were scrambled amid a Russian drone onslaught on Ukraine close to the NATO border. “At 03.21, a drone entered [Romanian] airspace, approximately 13 kilometres [8 miles] east of the municipality of Galați,” said a statement from the country’s Ministry of National Defence. “At 03:24, the crew of the IAR-330 SOCAT helicopter reported that the target had fallen approximately 4 kilometres [2.5 miles] northeast of the town of Grindu, Tulcea County, in an unpopulated area. The impact of the aerial vehicle with the ground was followed by a fire that extinguished itself. No casualties or material damage were reported. A military team is moving to the impact site to secure the area.”
Strikes on Kyiv and Infrastructure Damage
A children’s hospital and apartment blocks were damaged as Russian sources claimed to have hit Ukrainian missile and drone plants, logistics hubs, and railways. At least 70 Putin missiles - including hypersonic - were unleashed on Ukraine, with Kyiv residents taking refuge in underground metro stations. A giant warehouse blaze led to thick black smoke rising high in the sky over a fuel depot in Brovary, Kyiv region. There were huge strikes in the vicinity of Kyiv’s main airport at Boryspil.
In the early morning, people were rescued from the rubble as a woman was seen weeping over the body of a relative on a debris-strewn street.
Putin’s Mixed Signals
The scale of the onslaught with missiles unleashed from Tu-95MS strategic bombers showed Putin’s wrath at recent strikes by Ukraine deep inside Russia. It came as Putin paradoxically gave a rare hint that he is planning for the end of his four-and-a-half year war in Ukraine. As he admitted his war was harming the Russian economy, he ordered businesses: “There’s another issue that will arise - the return of our men from the line of contact after the end of the special military operation. There are many people, and they need to be employed, and they will come with healthy ambitions, and so on. This is serious work, for which we need to prepare in advance.” Yet his overnight strikes showed no sign he intends to halt the bloody conflict.
Ukrainian war commentator Denys Kazanskyi said: “As usual, the Russians fired ballistic missiles indiscriminately - at streets, courtyards, residential buildings, and warehouses.”
